Black Fridayhttp://www.businessinsider.com/category/black-friday
en-usTue, 03 Mar 2015 15:43:57 -0500Tue, 03 Mar 2015 15:43:57 -0500The latest news on Black Friday from Business Insiderhttp://static3.businessinsider.com/assets/images/bilogo-250x36-wide-rev.pngBusiness Insiderhttp://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/novembers-black-friday-impacts-ao-worlds-trading-and-stock-price-falls-2015-2Black Friday just wiped out half of this British online company's stock valuehttp://www.businessinsider.com/novembers-black-friday-impacts-ao-worlds-trading-and-stock-price-falls-2015-2
Wed, 25 Feb 2015 08:20:00 -0500Lianna Brinded
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The annual shopping day frenzy, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/r-uk-retailers-embrace-black-friday-discounts-2014-11">known as Black Friday</a>, usually boosts retailers' sales and profits towards the end of the year.</span></p>
<p>However, for the British o<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">nline white goods retailer, <a href="http://ao.com/">AO World</a>, &nbsp;Black Friday had <a href="http://www.investegate.co.uk/ao-world-plc--ao--/rns/trading-statement/201502250701417801F/">an "adverse effect" on the company and "it&nbsp;did not produce incremental sales."</a>&nbsp;The group did not go into further detail over how Black Friday hurt the company.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">However, AO World added that the impact will affect the group's full year's results.</span></p>
<p><span>"AO has experienced tougher than expected trading conditions in the final quarter of the year, as compared to Q4 in FY2014," said&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.investegate.co.uk/ao-world-plc--ao--/rns/trading-statement/201502250701417801F/">John Roberts, CEO at AO World in a regulatory statement</a>.&nbsp;"While we are disappointed that sales and profits are going to come in slightly below expectations, we remain committed to our market-leading, customer-focused business model."</span></p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/54edcc21dd0895c22b8b459f-841-553/ao world.jpg" border="0" alt="ao world"></p>
<p><span></span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">AO World said it expected gross revenue to be around £472.5 million for this year and pre-tax profit to hit £16.5 million.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> It caused its shares to plunge by almost 50% today. It knocked £500 million off the value of the company.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>Shares in AO World, which sells fridges, freezers and washing machines online, were still down by nearly 30% as of 1 p.m. GMT (8 a.m. ET).</span></span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/novembers-black-friday-impacts-ao-worlds-trading-and-stock-price-falls-2015-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/largest-ice-glacier-calving-filmed-2015-1">This Video Of The Largest Breakage Of Ice From A Glacier Ever Filmed Is Absolutely Frightening</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-holiday-sales-show-steady-growth-mastercard-2014-12Retail Sales During Black Friday Through Christmas Eve Were Up Nicely This Yearhttp://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-holiday-sales-show-steady-growth-mastercard-2014-12
Fri, 26 Dec 2014 11:35:00 -0500Ramkumar Iyer
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/549d8dca69bedd2f1f1a97b5-710-532/shoppers-browse-at-marbles-the-brain-store-within-the-court-king-of-prussia-mall-united-states-largest-retail-shopping-space-in-king-of-prussia-pennsylvania-on-december-6-2014-reutersmark-makela.jpg" alt="Shoppers browse at Marbles: The Brain Store within The Court, King of Prussia Mall, United State's largest retail shopping space, in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania on December 6, 2014. REUTERS/Mark Makela " border="0"></p><p>(Reuters) - The 2014 holiday season showed steady growth over the last year on strong demand for jewelry and women's apparel, according to data published by MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, which tracks customer spending during the holiday season.</p>
<p>Retail sales during Black Friday through Christmas Eve increased 5.5 percent, in line with forecasts, MasterCard Advisors said.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>(Reporting by Ramkumar Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-holiday-sales-show-steady-growth-mastercard-2014-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-data-shows-macys-won-black-friday-cyber-monday-2014-12Macy's Officially Won Black Friday And Cyber Monday On Facebook This Year (FB)http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-data-shows-macys-won-black-friday-cyber-monday-2014-12
Mon, 22 Dec 2014 16:51:00 -0500Dave Smith
<p>It's been a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-hits-a-new-all-time-high-2014-12">hot year for Facebook</a> — the company bought the virtual reality company Oculus and the messaging app WhatsApp for a combined $24 billion, and Instagram, which it bought for $1 billion in 2012, is now valued at $35 billion. But Facebook has also matured as a platform for brands to promote and sell their content: Retailers, in particular, have enjoyed Facebook's referral system, especially leading up to the all-important holiday season.</p>
<p>Based on <a href="http://simplymeasured.com/">SimplyMeasured</a> data charted for us by <a href="https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/chart-these-are-the-retailers-generating-the-most-interest-on-facebook-this-holiday-season-2014-12">BI Intelligence</a>, Amazon posted more than any other retailer on Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year, with roughly 80 posts promoting some of the site's biggest discounts. But the biggest winner on those important shopping days was Macy's, which had its content liked, commented on, and shared more than 370,000 times on those days. That's an impressive feat, considering Macy's only has 14.7 million Facebook fans, compared to Amazon's nearly 26 million fans on Facebook.</p>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/54988f166da811f635eb08f7-1200-900/bii-sai-cotd-retail-social-media-engagement-1.png" border="0" alt="bii sai cotd retail social media engagement"></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/this-is-why-square-is-going-to-miss-starbucks--a-lot-2014-12" >This Is Why Square Is Going To Miss Starbucks — A Lot</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-why-messaging-apps-are-such-a-big-deal-2014-12" >Here's Why Messaging Apps Are Such A Big Deal</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-data-shows-macys-won-black-friday-cyber-monday-2014-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/stripe-cofounder-john-collison-2015-predictions-2014-12Here's What The Cofounder Of $3.5 Billion Payments Startup Stripe Predicts For Next Yearhttp://www.businessinsider.com/stripe-cofounder-john-collison-2015-predictions-2014-12
Wed, 17 Dec 2014 13:32:07 -0500Sam Colt
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5491c562eab8eaf64294f59b-480-/167802831.jpg" border="0" alt="Stripe Cofounder John Collison" width="480"></p><p>If anyone knows what will happen to mobile payments next year, it's John Collison.</p>
<p>Collison is a cofounder of <a href="https://stripe.com/">Stripe</a>, which provides an easy way for web sites and mobile apps to take payments using almost any imaginable payment system, from credit cards to Apple Pay.</p>
<p>It's one of the hottest startups in San Francisco, worth more than <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-02/apple-pay-partner-stripe-valued-at-3-5-billion-in-new-funding.html">$3.5 billion</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>On Wednesday, Collison&nbsp;<a href="http://www.paymentssource.com/news/interchange/what-is-ahead-for-payments-3019971-1.html?utm_medium=email&amp;ET=paymentssource%3Ae4620505%3Aa%3A&amp;utm_campaign=-dec%2017%202014&amp;utm_source=newsletter&amp;st=email">gave some predictions</a> for what will happen to mobile payments in 2015:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Mobile commerce will explode as companies offer cheaper products.</strong> Now that your credit and debit card numbers are already in your phone, companies will start offering less expensive products that you wouldn't have bothered typing in your information to buy otherwise.</li>
<li><strong>Merchants will come to you.&nbsp;</strong>Collison writes that forcing people to visit a company's website to buy something is like making them visit its corporate headquarters to make a purchase. Companies will go where the consumers are <span>—</span>&nbsp;in apps.</li>
<li><strong>Trends like Black Friday will go worldwide</strong>. Payments will expand to reach more international consumers.</li>
<li><strong>Social media sites will become online markets.&nbsp;</strong>Facebook is already <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-testing-a-buy-button-on-pages-and-ads-2014-7">testing a "buy" button</a> to market products directly to its users.</li>
</ul>
<p><span style="line-height: 22.5px;">&nbsp;</span></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hottest-startup-ceos-2014-11" >The 32 Hottest Startup CEOs In America</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/stripe-cofounder-john-collison-2015-predictions-2014-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-holiday-shopping-discounts-deepen-last-longer-2014-12Desperate Retailers Are Discounting More Than Everhttp://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-holiday-shopping-discounts-deepen-last-longer-2014-12
Sat, 06 Dec 2014 12:38:00 -0500Jilian Mincer and Nandita Bose
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/54833ebf6bb3f764638e77f5-507-380/sales-person-retail-shopping-perfume-10.jpg" border="0" alt="sales person retail shopping perfume">Amarilis Sinchi visited Macy's at a New Jersey mall on Black Friday, but she waited until this week to purchase the red fleece pajamas she had her eye on.</span></p>
<p>The 21-year-old student ended up paying $13 at the department store, down from $30 on Friday, which has traditionally been the best day for deals during the U.S. holiday season. "The prices keep getting better," she said, planning a return to another store - Kohl's - which had dropped the price on LEGO toys.</p>
<p>Retailers started discounting early this holiday season, but that hasn’t stopped them from stepping up the offers now, particularly on apparel. The increasingly fierce struggle for consumer dollars online is adding to pressure for lower prices at stores, where mobile device-toting customers compare prices as they shop.</p>
<p>Many deals are being extended and deepened, visits to malls and data from price tracking firms show, and analysts see many retailers' margins being compressed, especially in apparel.</p>
<p>"We’re experiencing post-holiday promotions even before the holiday is in full swing," said Steven Barr, U.S. Retail and Consumer Leader at consultants PwC, who has not seen such a high level of deals at this stage of the season before. On one trip to a mall, an apparel store dropped a discount from 40 percent to 50 percent while he ate lunch.</p>
<p>“We expect this is going to be the most promotional holiday on record,” challenging profits in the sector, he said.</p>
<p>Consumers remain cautious about spending despite lower gasoline prices and an improved jobs and housing market, surveys by Reuters/Ipsos show. Wages growth has been very limited while food and healthcare costs have risen.</p>
<p>People do generally appear to be getting more price conscious. In a survey this summer conducted by PwC, 84 percent of respondents said they chose a store because of the prices it offers, up from 74 percent in 2013.</p>
<p>The 10 retailers with the most traffic and sales more than doubled the number of discounted items online during the week after Black Friday, according to data from TrackIf, a service that tracks prices across nearly 2,000 retail websites.</p>
<p>To be sure, retailers with unique or popular products have avoided big price cuts, and there is substantial variation between companies and types of merchandise. Many retailers have gone into the season with less inventory than previous years, and mainstream forecasters expect holiday sales will rise around 4 percent for the year, despite the discounting.</p>
<p>But already some retail earnings and stock prices are being hurt by weak sales and the increased level of discounting, in particular at teen clothing store chains. Teen buyers preferring to spend on phones and gadgets rather than clothes has been hurting that sector for some time.</p>
<p>SOME RETAILERS HURT BADLY</p>
<p>Shares of teen retailer Aeropostale dropped Wednesday to a 52-week low after it reported a larger-than-expected fourth-quarter loss. Like apparel retailers Express and Abercrombie &amp; Fitch, Aeropostale was hurt by discounting and slowing demand. On Friday, teen retailer Delia*s said it would file for bankruptcy.</p>
<p>"The gross margins are being pressured," said Nomura retail analyst Simeon Siegel. Apparel retailers, he said, can't cut prices much more than 50 percent without losing money, so many are trying to win sales by extending the time they offer discounts.</p>
<p>Companies that track discounts can discern a significant change. Last year, online prices from traditional retailers were lowest on Black Friday for a variety of products in many categories, according to Market Track. But this year, for instance, it found prices of kitchenware fell in the days after Black Friday, by 13 percent at Sears and 47 percent at Macy's.</p>
<p>ShopSavvy, which tracks merchandise and prices for the top 100 online and in-store retailers based on their traffic and sales, compared discounts in five categories of items at 32 of these merchants on Black Friday and early this week. Computers, clothing and home and garden products showed widening discounts. Electronics and entertainment products were cheaper on Black Friday itself.</p>
<p>ShopSavvy CEO John Boyd said that the rise of mobile and online commerce was driving retailers to spread discounts beyond Friday. This year's move toward post-Black Friday bargains was "materially stronger" than previous years, he said.</p>
<p>Most stores also didn't wait until the holiday weekend to start discounts, said ShopSavvy, which also found that many of the big retailers were offering the same deals as online retailer Amazon.com.</p>
<p>Ecommerce researcher Profitero found online discounts of some 41,000 toys, electronics and sporting goods at Amazon, Best Buy, Toys R Us and Walmart held steady on this week's Cyber Monday compared with last week's Black Friday.</p>
<p>A Macy's spokesman said the retailer plans its promotions in advance. Other retailers declined to comment on holiday pricing strategies.</p>
<p>Standing in the Newport Centre mall in Jersey City, New Jersey, that he has visited regularly over the last eight years, Moody's analyst Charles O'Shea said that while he's seen strong sales of electronics at stores like Best Buy and Target, many apparel retailers already were marking down merchandise.</p>
<p>Walking into a Sears store, he flipped over tag after tag, showing deep discounts on almost all apparel. Some stores, such as American Eagle, were offering shoppers the chance to buy one item and get 50 percent off a second.</p>
<p>Standing outside an Aeropostale, O'Shea pointed at a sign advertising up to 70 percent off. Inside, stacks of neatly folded sweaters were marked down to $14 from $44.50.</p>
<p>That's a good indication that Thanksgiving holiday weekend sales "weren't what they wanted," he said. "They have to get stuff out of there."</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>(Reporting by Jilian Mincer in New York and Nandita Bose in Chicago.; Additional reporting by Samatha Sunne in New York and Nathan Layne in Chicago.; Editing by Peter Henderson and Martin Howell.)</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-holiday-shopping-discounts-deepen-last-longer-2014-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/opening-on-thanksgiving-has-created-a-prisoners-dilemma-for-retailers-2014-12Opening On Thanksgiving Has Created A 'Prisoners' Dilemma' For Retailers http://www.businessinsider.com/opening-on-thanksgiving-has-created-a-prisoners-dilemma-for-retailers-2014-12
Wed, 03 Dec 2014 14:19:35 -0500Ashley Lutz
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/547f59106da811d534ee8f7f-600-/black-friday-crowds-16.jpg" border="0" alt="Black Friday crowds" width="600"></p><p>Black Friday sales <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-black-friday-sales-down-as-shopping-habits-change-2014-11">declined</a> this year, while Cyber Monday fell short of predictions.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Some executives and analysts <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-revealed-how-poor-americans-really-are-2014-12">are blaming</a> the decline on cash-strapped consumers.</p>
<p>But one expert notes that retailers could be feeling the effects of opening on Thanksgiving.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"Opening on Thanksgiving has created a 'Prisoners' Dilemma' for retailers," said Andrew Lipsman, vice president of marketing and insights <a href="http://www.comscore.com/">at ComScore</a>. "No one wants to be the retailer to miss out, but the net effect could be negative."&nbsp;</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/PrisonersDilemma.html">"Prisoners' Dilemma"</a> refers to when the overall outcome is worse when both parties participate than if they didn't.</p>
<p>For retailers, this means opening on Thanksgiving in a bid to get customers who are surely spending money at competitors.&nbsp;</p>
<p>But the mentality of Thanksgiving shoppers is different than it is at other times, Lipsman said. These consumers tend to&nbsp;<span>go out in the evening after a family meal, and are mostly focused on "doorbusters," such as cheap electronics and towels.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Black Friday shoppers, on the other hand, have a "shop 'til you drop" mindset and would spend most of the day hopping from store to store, without feeling time constraints like they might have the night before.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>This could be leading to industry-wide declines on Black Friday weekend, Lipsman said.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Lipsman said he believes that slight declines in store traffic and sales are being offset by strong online business.&nbsp;</p>
<p><span>For the five-day period from Thanksgiving through Cyber&nbsp;</span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_661925044"><span class="aQJ">Monday</span></span><span>, online buying from desktop computers totaled $6.6 billion, up 24% from last year.</span></p>
<p><span>Lipsman said that doom-and-gloom attitudes about consumers are wrong.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>"This is a case of changing consumer behaviors," Lipsman said. "Many people are buying a few doorbusters on Thanksgiving and then supplementing by shopping online."</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/victorias-secret-fashion-show-photos-2014-2014-12" >Photos From The Outrageous Victoria's Secret Fashion Show</a></strong></p>
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<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/opening-on-thanksgiving-has-created-a-prisoners-dilemma-for-retailers-2014-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-robots-customer-orders-warehouses-2014-12Watch Amazon's New Robots Fill Customer Orders And Do The Heavy Lifting At Its Warehouseshttp://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-robots-customer-orders-warehouses-2014-12
Wed, 03 Dec 2014 11:38:00 -0500Devan Joseph and Associated Press
<p>Amazon says it has boosted efficiency - and given workers' legs a break - by deploying more than <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-robots-filling-customer-orders-2014-11">15,000 wheeled robots</a> to crisscross the floors of its biggest warehouses and deliver stacks of products to employees.<br><br><em>Produced by&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/author/devan-joseph" title="Devan Joseph">Devan Joseph</a></em><span><em>. Video courtesy of Associated Press.</em><br><br><strong>Follow BI Video:</strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BusinessInsider.Video" title="On Facebook">On Facebook</a></span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-robots-customer-orders-warehouses-2014-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-revealed-how-poor-americans-really-are-2014-12Black Friday Revealed How Poor Americans Really Are http://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-revealed-how-poor-americans-really-are-2014-12
Tue, 02 Dec 2014 11:39:00 -0500Ashley Lutz
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/547de6e86bb3f772446044d5-600-/black-friday-crowds-11.jpg" border="0" alt="Black Friday crowds" width="600"></p><p>Black Friday sales <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-black-friday-sales-down-as-shopping-habits-change-2014-11">plummeted</a> this year, leaving retailers completely stumped. </p>
<p>After weeks of declining gas prices, many analysts predicted the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/2014-holiday-season-spending-outlook-2014-11">biggest holiday season</a> ever. Industry groups like the National Retail Federation reasoned that Americans would use their fuel savings on gifts. </p>
<p>Despite encouraging forecasts, Black Friday weekend sales were down 11%. Cyber Monday <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-cyber-monday-sales-start-slow-as-early-discounts-hurt-2014-12">sales rose</a> 8%, falling short of many predictions.</p>
<p>So where are the customers? </p>
<p>They're probably broke, according to some analysts and executives. </p>
<p>Brad Anderson, former CEO of Best Buy, <a href="http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000335410">told CNBC</a> that customers were "still feeling constrained," which could lead to a lackluster holiday season. </p>
<p>Macy's CFO Karen Hoguet told analysts that consumers had priorities other than clothing and housewares. </p>
<p>"Shoppers are spending more of their disposable dollars on categories we don’t sell, like cars, healthcare, electronics, and home improvement," <a href="http://seekingalpha.com/article/2675545-macys-m-q3-2014-results-earnings-call-transcript">Hoguet said in a call</a> with investors.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">The stores that did remarkably well on Black Friday, like Family Dollar and Kohl's, are all deep discounters, according to a recent Deutsche Bank report. </span></p>
<p><span>The success of discount retailers shows that Americans are more concerned about spending money than ever. </span></p>
<p><span><span>Wal-Mart, however, provided few details about results from the weekend, a possible sign of bad news, the Deutsche Bank analysts wrote.</span></span></p>
<p>Many Americans are watching their spending despite lower gas prices, <a href="http://www.sterneagee.com/documents/MktSM/Where%20are%20the%20Shoppers_11-21-14.pdf">writes Lindsey Piegza</a>, chief economist at Sterne Agee. </p>
<p>"C<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">onsumers </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">are increasingly familiar with energy price reprieve from summer gas prices and no longer adjust their long-term spending </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">habits as much, or at all, based on short-term price fluctuations," Piegza writes. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">And while gas prices are lower, the benefit is offset by higher housing and utility costs, according <a href="http://www.sterneagee.com/documents/MktSM/Where%20are%20the%20Shoppers_11-21-14.pdf">to Piegza</a>. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Health insurance premiums have increased between 39% and 56% since early 2013, meaning additional costs of $230 per month for the average family. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">The lackluster job market is also contributing to poor holiday sales, Piegza writes. </span></p>
<p>"With uncertainty lingering and patience wearing thin after five-plus years of still lackluster wage growth, consumers are increasing saving for the future, hedging against a continuation of 'more of the same,'"Piegza said. "Thus, for many, extra savings at the pump as a result of lower gas prices are simply being stored away to help supplement spending needs in the future, ramping up savings, not spending."</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-revealed-how-poor-americans-really-are-2014-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-ios-smashed-android-where-it-counts-on-black-friday-2014-12CHART OF THE DAY: iOS Smashed Android Where It Counts On Black Fridayhttp://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-ios-smashed-android-where-it-counts-on-black-friday-2014-12
Mon, 01 Dec 2014 16:45:00 -0500Dave Smith
<p>Though Android is the <a href="http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2623415">most common smartphone operating system in the world</a>, Apple's iOS continues to beat Google's offering in one key area: Online shopping.</p>
<p>Adobe, IBM, and Custora <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ios-android-shopping-data-2014-11">recently released</a> their numbers from Black Friday: Based on those companies' data charted for us by <a href="https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/">BI Intelligence</a>, iOS claimed the lion's share of ecommerce revenue — more than double that of Android, across the board. Most of that was due to the iPad, as iPhone users mainly use their devices for browsing, leaving purchases for later on tablets or PCs.</p>
<p>So overall, Android might have a major advantage in market share, but iOS is still where the money is.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/547cdd856bb3f7360bb7ee2b-1200-900/bii-sai-cotd-black-friday-mobile-1.png" border="0" alt="bii sai cotd black friday mobile"></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-consumers-ready-to-upgrade-want-an-apple-iphone-2014-11" >CHART OF THE DAY: Consumers Ready To Upgrade Want An Apple iPhone</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-ios-smashed-android-where-it-counts-on-black-friday-2014-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-sales-mean-nothing-for-total-holiday-sales-2014-12Here's What People Don't Understand About Crummy Black Friday Saleshttp://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-sales-mean-nothing-for-total-holiday-sales-2014-12
Mon, 01 Dec 2014 09:07:00 -0500Shane Ferro
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/547c6f896bb3f76b43b7ee2c-819-447/screen shot 2014-12-01 at 8.36.30 am.png" border="0" alt="Black Friday sales"></p><p></p>
<p>Black Friday sales are down this year.</p>
<p>Total spending over the Thanksgiving weekend was $50.9 billion, about 12% lower than last year's $57.4 billion, according to the <a href="https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/early-promotions-online-shopping-and-improving-economy-changing-the-face-of">National Retail Federation</a>.</p>
<p>At first glance, it would appear to be a troubling indicator of consumer health. But the historical data shows that Black Friday sales actually reveal next to nothing about how well holiday sales are going to do on the whole.</p>
<p>The above chart from <a href="https://twitter.com/osullivanEcon/status/539410453810925568">High Frequency Economics' Jim O'Sullivan</a> shows the year-over-year percentage change for the past five years. Black Friday sales have gone up and down, but holiday sales overall have grown at a pretty steady pace of 3% to 5%.&nbsp;</p>
<p>This chart below from Capital Economics, which is a couple of years old, makes the point even more clearly. There just isn't a lot of correlation between Black Friday and holiday sales overall.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="center"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/547c6ba26bb3f7d32db7ee2b-517-346/blackfridaychart.jpg" border="0" alt="Black Friday chart" width="813" height="544"></p>
<p>(via <a href="http://www.vox.com/xpress/2014/12/1/7311527/black-friday-sales-indicator">Matt Yglesias</a> and <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/11/23/black-friday-is-a-bunch-of-meaningless-hype-in-one-chart/">Neil Irwin</a>)</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-women-choose-more-flexible-careers-2014-11" >Why Women Are Always Moving For Their Husbands' Jobs</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-sales-mean-nothing-for-total-holiday-sales-2014-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-retail-body-estimates-thanksgiving-weekend-sales-down-113-percent-2014-12The Black Friday Game Is Rapidly Undergoing An 'Evolutionary Change'http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-retail-body-estimates-thanksgiving-weekend-sales-down-113-percent-2014-12
Mon, 01 Dec 2014 07:48:00 -0500Nandita Bose
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/547c63316da811090b14ab26-1200-924/black-friday-crowds-8.jpg" alt="Black Friday crowds" border="0"></p><p>(Reuters) - Early holiday promotions and rising online shopping took a toll on in-store U.S. sales during the Thanksgiving weekend as shoppers on average spent 6.4 percent less than they did a year earlier, according to data released Sunday by an industry group.</p>
<p>The <a class="cite">National Retail Federation</a> estimated shoppers on average spent $380.95 at stores this holiday weekend, which began on Thursday, compared with $407.02 a year ago, and total spending fell about 11 percent to $50.9 billion over the weekend.</p>
<p>NRF President and Chief Executive <a class="cite">Matthew Shay</a> said there is an "evolutionary change" in holiday shopping among both consumers and retailers, and this trend is likely to continue.</p>
<p>The data highlights the growing importance of online sales and the waning importance of Black Friday, which until a few years ago traditionally kicked off the holiday shopping season in the <a class="cite">United States</a>, as more retailers open their doors on Thanksgiving Day and start discounting merchandise earlier in November.</p>
<p>comScore, a retail analytics firm, said U.S. online sales rose 32 percent to $766 million on Thanksgiving and 26 percent to $1.2 billion on Black Friday, driven by stronger deals online.</p>
<p>The Thanksgiving weekend is an early gauge of consumer mood in a season that generates about 30 percent of sales and nearly 40 percent of profit for retailers.</p>
<p>Discounted high-end apparel, televisions and toys were the most popular this year followed by items including video games, home furnishings and jewelry, according to the NRF survey of 4,631 consumers.</p>
<p>Department stores like Macy's &lt;M.N&gt; were the most visited followed by discount retailers like <a class="cite">Wal-Mart</a> &lt;WMT.N&gt;, Target &lt;TGT.N&gt; and electronic chains like Best Buy &lt;BBY.N&gt;.</p>
<p>NRF said nearly two in five consumers shopped online or plan to shop online by the weekend's end.</p>
<p>On Saturday, research firm <a class="cite">ShopperTrack</a> said sales at retail stores fell 0.5 percent.</p>
<p><a class="cite">RetailNext</a>, another analytics firm, on Sunday said it found overall shopper traffic on Black Friday fell 14 percent, but on average shopper spending rose 1.9 percent, as conversion rates were higher, with shoppers spending more once in the store.</p>
<p>"Sales on Black Friday were very disappointing but retailers managed to drive a lot of people to their websites early on which helps us remain optimistic about the overall holiday season," said <a class="cite">Shelley Kohan</a>, vice president, retail consulting, at <a class="cite">RetailNext</a>.</p>
<p>The NRF stuck to its forecast for retail sales to rise 4.1 percent this holiday season.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago; Editing by Jilian Mincer and Eric Walsh)</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-retail-body-estimates-thanksgiving-weekend-sales-down-113-percent-2014-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/where-to-find-the-uks-best-cyber-monday-deals-2014-12Here's Where To Find The UK's Best Cyber Monday Deals http://www.businessinsider.com/where-to-find-the-uks-best-cyber-monday-deals-2014-12
Mon, 01 Dec 2014 05:44:55 -0500Joshua Barrie
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/547c581bdd089560378b4592-1200-858/cybermonday.jpg" border="0" alt="cybermonday"></p><p>After <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/photos-black-friday-in-the-uk-2014-11">the craziness of Black Friday</a>,&nbsp;Cyber Monday has arrived — the much safer online equivalent and&nbsp;the biggest day of the year on the tech shopping calendar.</p>
<p>Websites will probably have huge traffic, so it's best to save time and know what you're after. Here are the best UK deals:</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/l/4781753031/ref=gateway_bunkbed_cybermonday?_encoding=UTF8&amp;nav_sdd=aps&amp;pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&amp;pf_rd_s=center-B1&amp;pf_rd_r=0F8BNZZ9Y80XVS3DAP4S&amp;pf_rd_t=101&amp;pf_rd_p=561968027&amp;pf_rd_i=468294">Amazon</a></h3>
<p>The online retailer is offering "lightning deals" and has discounts on hundreds of products, from Xbox One consoles to its own-brand Fire TV.</p>
<p>On Monday morning Amazon dropped its Fire HD7 tablet to £99, while its phone, a 32GB model on the O2 network, was reduced by £150 to £249.&nbsp;</p>
<h3><a href="http://cybermonday.game.co.uk/?affId=1991357&amp;tduid=f8b4689b9dd39ac80243b8f057d00168&amp;cm_mmc=Affiliate-_-Tradedoubler-_-Skimlinks-_-Deep_link">GAME</a></h3>
<p>The go-to store for gamers has picked up today where it left off on Black Friday — it's hitting Cyber Monday hard. It's best deals as the morning arrived were hardware deals on XBox One and PlayStation 4 consoles.&nbsp;</p>
<p>As of the morning Microsoft's device was priced at £299 with the new Assassin's Creed game, and the PS4 for the same price with Driveclub and The Last of Us.</p>
<h3><a href="http://store.apple.com/uk">Apple</a></h3>
<p>OK, so <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/apple-has-snubbed-the-uk-on-black-friday-2014-11">Apple hasn't really got into the spirit of the whole&nbsp;save people money&nbsp;thing</a>, which has upset some people — but it's still involved.&nbsp;</p>
<p>On Cyber Monday it's running a charity promotion to mark World AIDS Day, and says the company will "contribute a portion of the proceeds from every product, accessory and gift card" it sells on Dec. 1 to fight the disease.&nbsp;</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.johnlewis.com/">John Lewis</a></h3>
<p>The department store proved it's more than just a posh advert on Black Friday, and has £20 off Amazon's Kindle Fire today. It's also <a href="http://www.cityam.com/1417358900/best-places-find-cyber-monday-deals-2014-john-lewis-tesco-asos-marks-and-spencer-game">operating a policy to match competitors on products</a>. A lot of the deals it had last week are over, but its <a href="http://www.johnlewis.com/special-offers/technology-offers/c60000204?intcmp=eht_cat_special-offers_televisionoffers_200114">tech section</a> still has plenty of discounts.&nbsp;</p>
<h3><a href="https://mcybermonday-uk.appspot.com/comingsoon.jsp">Motorola&nbsp;</a></h3>
<p>The smartphone manufacturer is running a registration for its new Moto X handset until Dec. 2. It's not out yet but you can already get £100 off.&nbsp;</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.richersounds.com/">Richer Sounds</a></h3>
<p>The audio company is worth a visit on Cyber Monday. It's got speakers like the Tannoy Revolution DC6 down from £399.95 to £199.95, and loads of its Black Friday reductions are still in place.&nbsp;</p>
<h3><a href="https://www.argos.co.uk/static/ArgosPromo3/includeName/black-friday.htm?tag=ar:gnav:BlackFriday">Argos</a></h3>
<p>Argos is also in on the action on Dec. 1 and is again one of the cheapest places to shop. It's got a Canon PowerShot camera for less than half price at £119.99, and its Black Friday offers end on Cyber Monday, with an emphasis on tech.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Examples include PS4 bundles, iPad Mini tablets for £179 with a £20 gift voucher, and a Toshiba 1TB laptop for £279.99.&nbsp;</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.tesco.com/direct/technology-gaming/?catId=4294960229">Tesco</a></h3>
<p>Its stores were some of the more dangerous during the Black Friday melee, but buying from the retailer online is probably okay.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Tesco has got a Samsung Galaxy Note, 8", 16GB, white, for £149. Overall its got up to £20 off technology and electrical, with an eCoupon service specifically for Cyber Monday.&nbsp;</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchCmd?srch=cybertech&amp;action=search&amp;storeId=10001&amp;catalogId=10151&amp;langId=-1%20&amp;cm_re=banner-_-satnav+Pages-_-cybertech">Halfords</a></h3>
<p>The automotive company has a "web exclusive" reel of deals for December 1. Deals include various models of satnavs, such as the Garmin Nuvi or TomTom Go, for £69.99 and £99.99 respectively.&nbsp;</p>
<p>It's also got plenty of other tech devices reduced, including bluetooth headsets and car stereos.&nbsp;</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/search-keywords/xx_xx_xx_xx_xx/-promotion-/xx-criteria.html?intcmp=home~black-tag-event~offers~r1-1~full~peak~srxx_xx_xx_xx_xx~-~271114">Currys PC World</a></h3>
<p>Much like Black Friday, Cyber Monday is big at the computer giant. It's black tag event is still going online and some of the prices are pretty epic. There's a Dolce Gusto coffee machine for £29 (Was £99.99), and a 42" LG Smart LED TV reduced to £279.&nbsp;</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.marksandspencer.com/l/offers/4-magical-days?intid=hp_car_1_1_281114_4md">Marks &amp; Spencer</a></h3>
<p>Weirdly, Cyber Monday is part of M&amp;S' "4 Magical Days" offers, where more than 6,000 deals offer for up to 30% off. There's not a huge amount of tech, but there are a few things to check out.&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/where-to-find-the-uks-best-cyber-monday-deals-2014-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-black-friday-sales-down-as-shopping-habits-change-2014-11Black Friday Sales Plummeted This Yearhttp://www.businessinsider.com/afp-black-friday-sales-down-as-shopping-habits-change-2014-11
Sun, 30 Nov 2014 17:58:00 -0500
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/547b87bb5afbd3f82d8b4567-480-/afp-black-friday-sales-down-as-shopping-habits-change.jpg" border="0" alt="A Black Friday shopper pushes his Samsung big screen TV after purchasing it at a Walmart in Fairfax, Virginia, on November 28, 2014" width="480"></p><p>Consumer spending during America's Thanksgiving weekend dropped compared with last year, but the decline can be attributed to an improving economy and changing shopping habits, a survey found Sunday.</p>
<p>According to the National Retail Federation's Thanksgiving weekend spending survey, 55.1 percent of holiday shoppers were expected to visit stores or go online over Thanksgiving weekend, down from 58.7 percent last year.</p>
<p>"A strengthening economy that changes consumers' reliance on deep discounts, a highly competitive environment, early promotions, and the ability to shop 24/7 online all contributed to the shift witnessed this weekend," NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement.</p>
<p>According to the survey, the average weekend shopper was expected to spend $380.95, down 6.4 percent from $407.02 last year.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Total spending was expected to reach $50.9 billion, down from last year’s estimated $57.4 billion.</p>
<p>American consumers flood stores looking for steep discounts, particularly on electronics, toys, and clothes, during the Thanksgiving weekend, which kicks off Christmas holiday spending.</p>
<p>Black Friday still drew the biggest crowds, but the weekend has been expanded into a number of speciality commercial "holidays": "Gray Thursday," "Small Business Saturday," and "Cyber Monday."&nbsp;</p>
<p>Of those who went shopping Saturday, three-quarters said they did so specifically to support "Small Business Saturday," which is a growing movement to encourage residents to support local sellers.</p>
<p>Many online retailers also offered discounts in the days before Black Friday, possibly accounting for a reduced overall spend on the day itself.</p>
<p>"Early online promotions before the big weekend may have taken some of consumer's spending power with them," the NRF statement read.</p>
<p>The survey was conducted Friday and Saturday by Prosper Insights &amp; Analytics for NRF. It polled 4,631 consumers and had a margin of error of 1.5 percentage points.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/macys-ceo-consumers-arent-confident-2014-9" >Macy's CEO Offers An Ominous Insight About American Consumers</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-black-friday-sales-down-as-shopping-habits-change-2014-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-retail-sales-edge-down-at-start-of-holiday-season-shoppertrak-2014-11Black Friday Was Busier For Brick-And-Mortar Stores Last Yearhttp://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-retail-sales-edge-down-at-start-of-holiday-season-shoppertrak-2014-11
Sat, 29 Nov 2014 19:08:00 -0500Nathan Layne
<p><img style="float:right;" src="/image/547aabd46bb3f76f7549298b-604-453/black-friday-advertisements-are-seen-in-the-bottom-of-a-shopping-cart-outside-a-shopping-area-in-westbury-new-york-november-28-2014-reutersshannon-stapleton.jpg" alt="Black Friday advertisements are seen in the bottom of a shopping cart outside a shopping area in Westbury, New York November 28, 2014.
REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton " border="0"></p><p>(Reuters) - U.S. shoppers spent slightly less money at brick-and-mortar stores on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday than across the same two days in 2013, while online sales surged to record highs, data showed on Saturday.</p>
<p>Sales at retail stores totaled about $12.29 billion on Thursday and Friday, down 0.5 percent from the $12.35 billion spent last year, according to estimates by <strong class="highlight">ShopperTrak</strong>. The research firm stuck by its forecast for November and December sales to increase 3.8 percent.</p>
<p>The data highlights the waning importance of Black Friday, which until a few years ago kicked off the holiday shopping season, as more retailers open their doors on Thanksgiving Day and start discounting earlier in the month.</p>
<p>It also points to the intense price competition among retailers, which have been discounting by 40 to 70 percent this year compared with 30 to 50 percent in the recent past, <strong class="highlight">ShopperTrak</strong> founder <a class="cite">Bill Martin</a> told Reuters.</p>
<p>"I think what we are seeing is those early promotions coupled with some pretty deep discounts," he said. Martin said he had expected a 0.5 to 1 percent sales gain.</p>
<p>Customer traffic rose 27.3 percent on Thanksgiving Day from a year earlier, reflecting the sharp increase in retailers opening for business on that day. Traffic fell 5.6 percent on Black Friday, <strong class="highlight">ShopperTrak</strong> said.</p>
<p>Martin cautioned against taking the two days' figures as sign of slack holiday demand. He noted that Thanksgiving and Black Friday combined for just 1 percent growth last year, underperforming growth of 3.1 percent during the entire season spanning the months of November and December.</p>
<p>Reflecting the decreased significance of Black Friday, <strong class="highlight">ShopperTrak</strong> expects "Super Saturday" on Dec. 20 to rank as the busiest shopping day this year and says seven of the top 10 sales days of the season are still to come.</p>
<p>Separate data underscored the ongoing shift of shopping to online retailers.</p>
<p>Online Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales tracked by <a class="cite">Adobe Systems Inc</a> were a record $1.33 billion and $2.4 billion, up 25 percent and 24 percent from a year earlier, respectively. Between Nov. 1 and Nov. 28, $32 billion has been spent online, up 14 percent from 2013, Adobe said.</p>
<p>The proliferation of <a class="cite">smartphones</a> has made consumers more likely to shop online, with 29 percent of Thanksgiving sales via <a class="cite">mobile devices</a>, up from 21 percent on the same day last year. Adobe said its findings were based on more than 350 million visits to 4,500 retail websites.</p>
<p>"So much more mobile shopping is happening and that's part of what's driving e-commerce activity to new heights every year," said <a class="cite">Tamara Gaffney</a>, principal analyst at Adobe Digital Index.</p>
<p>Several traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers reported strong online growth, a reflection of efforts to compete more aggressively on price with Amazon.com. <a class="cite">Target Corp</a>, which is offering free shipping for online orders during the holiday season, said it had record online sales on Thursday, up more than 40 percent from 2013.</p>
<p>Protesters have urged shoppers to boycott stores as the holiday season gets underway, saying economic inequality in the <a class="cite">United States</a> contributes to incidents such as the Ferguson, <a class="cite">Missouri</a>, shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white policeman.</p>
<p>Martin, however, told Reuters he did not think the protests have so far had a significant impact on sales on a national level.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Nathan Layne in Chicago; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Dan Grebler)</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-retail-sales-edge-down-at-start-of-holiday-season-shoppertrak-2014-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/guns-bought-on-black-friday-2014-11Americans Bought Guns at a Record-Setting Rate on Black Fridayhttp://www.businessinsider.com/guns-bought-on-black-friday-2014-11
Sat, 29 Nov 2014 13:07:00 -0500Zach Noble
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/547a0a93eab8eacb60ae0998-530-398/gun-purchase.jpg" border="0" alt="Gun Purchase"></p><p>Forget the Xboxes, iPhones and Tickle Me Elmos — Americans were really going crazy for guns this Black Friday, in record-setting numbers.</p>
<p>The typical&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/11/27/black-fridays-big-gun-sales-trigger-two-background-check-requests-per-second-and-a-more-easily-beaten-system/" target="_blank">Black Friday boom in gun sales</a>&nbsp;doubles the number of background checks handled by the&nbsp;FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), from one per second on an average day to two per second.</p>
<p>By Friday afternoon, that figure had reached three checks per second,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/28/us/black-friday-gun-sales/index.html?hpt=hp_t1" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>, putting 2014 on track to blow past the prior Black Friday record of&nbsp;144,758 FBI-processed gun transactions in a single day.</p>
<div>
<p>A customer shops for a handgun at Freddie Bear Sports on June 16, 2014 in Tinley Park, Illinois. Scott Olson/Getty Images</p>
</div>
<p>“We are averaging three checks per second,” FBI spokesman Stephen Fischer&nbsp;said on Friday afternoon.</p>
<p>Noting that the FBI typically brings in 100 extra employees to help handle the Black Friday load, Fischer said,&nbsp;”The challenge is to have staff keep up with this volume. We do that by limiting personal leave, asking employees to work extra shifts and reutilizing former…employees to serve in NICS during this busy period.”</p>
<p>Fischer said FBI employees would work through the weekend to process the backlog generated by booming sales in the more than 48,000 U.S. gun retailers.</p>
<p>Officials told CNN that roughly 2 percent of Black Friday background checks will likely not be completed due to insufficient information; in 2013, the FBI completed 21 million background checks and officials said that 1.1 percent of those checks resulted in a denied gun purchase.</p>
<p>(H/T:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.mediaite.com/online/gun-sales-spike-on-black-friday-fbi-concerned-about-background-check-backlog/" target="_blank">Mediaite</a>)</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/guns-bought-on-black-friday-2014-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-was-amazons-busiest-day-ever-2014-11Black Friday Was Amazon's Busiest Day Ever http://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-was-amazons-busiest-day-ever-2014-11
Sat, 29 Nov 2014 08:27:00 -0500Rebecca Burn-Callander
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/546ce6ad6bb3f7013c7f91b2-600-/pile-amazon-boxes.jpg" border="0" alt="pile amazon boxes" width="600">Amazon has reported its busiest ever sales day on Black Friday as consumers rushed online to take advantage of exclusive deals.</span></p>
<p>Bestselling products included the Kindle Fire HDX range, discounted by £100, as well as the Dolce Gusto Mini Me Coffee Capsule Machine, Toy Story Ultimate Buzz Lightyear, diamond jewelery and men's watches.</p>
<p>More than 3,000 deals were launched across Amazon during Black Friday week.</p>
<p>The online marketplace sold more than 5.5m products at a rate of 64 items a second on Friday, according to figures released today.</p>
<p>The peak time for shopping on Amazon on Black Friday was 8.29am, the retailer said.</p>
<p>Last year, Amazon sold more than 4m items on Black Friday. However, on the following Monday - known as Cyber Monday - it smashed this record by selling 4.1m items at a rate of 47 a second.</p>
<p>This year, the e-commerce giant has predicted that Cyber Monday will beat its Black Friday sales record by some margin.</p>
<p>It has announced plans to offer hundreds of extra deals on Cyber Monday, which takes place on December 1. New offers will be released every 10 minutes.</p>
<p>Amazon predicts that the bestsellers on Monday are likely to be TomTom Sat Navs, Sennheiser Headphones, Harry Potter DVDs and ruby jewellery.</p>
<p>"Ever since we introduced Black Friday to the UK in 2010, sales have increased year-on-year but this year really has surpassed all of our expectations," said Xavier Garambois, vice president of EU retail at Amazon.</p>
<p>"The public's appetite for Black Friday has been bigger than ever, kicking off the Christmas shopping period in earnest and establishing Black Friday as a fixture on the UK Christmas shopping calendar."</p>
<p>The Black Friday phenomenon <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11242029/Black-Friday-by-numbers.html"><em>originated in the United States</em></a>and has emerged as one of Britain's busiest shopping days of the year.</p>
<p>Black Friday – always the day after Thanksgiving – has been in operation in America since before the Second World War. It was a single day of big discounts, launched by east-coast retailers in an attempt to kick consumers off their holiday sofas and into the stores.</p>
<p><img class="nc_pixel" src="https://pixel.newscred.com/px.gif?key=YXJ0aWNsZT02YTlmOGVjMTU2NjkzYzBhN2M5NDBmZWI3MjE3OTUwZiZwdWJsaXNoZXI9NzMwZWI4NmFiNTlmMGQ0MTkyNmFjNjViMDFmODNlMmY=" border="0" alt="" width="1" height="1"></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-was-amazons-busiest-day-ever-2014-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://uk.businessinsider.com/photos-black-friday-in-the-uk-2014-11PHOTOS: A Look Back At The Chaos, Fighting And Mayhem Of Black Friday In The UKhttp://uk.businessinsider.com/photos-black-friday-in-the-uk-2014-11
Sat, 29 Nov 2014 08:13:00 -0500Joshua Barrie
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/528cf26b6bb3f7b070969d2a-1200-706/rtr3arsz.jpg" alt="Black Friday chaos" border="0"></p><p>Black Friday has landed in the UK and the sales event is creating mayhem. </p>
<p>On Friday morning, as retail outlets opened their doors at 8am, the police had already been called to more than 10 supermarkets across the country. </p>
<p>Asda is one retailer experiencing hectic shop floors. A spokeswoman told Business Insider that it sold more than 10,000 tablets in the first two hours of trading and as of 1pm had more than two million customers. </p>
<p><span>At an ASDA in Wembley, London, images even surfaced of a shopper who had been "knocked to the ground". </span></p>
<p><span>“We do not condone the behaviour of a very small number of people in our Wembley store this morning. Despite our extensive planning and additional security colleagues there was an isolated incident this morning when the store opened. The sale has run smoothly in all our other 440 participating stores,” ASDA told Business Insider.</span></p>
<p>Tesco is also encountering frenzied customers. <span>At a branch in London, seven police cars and two ambulances were called after scuffles broke out on Thursday night. </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/video/2014/nov/28/black-friday-police-tesco-shopper-scuffles-video">The Guardian says the store had to close because of the commotion</a><span>.</span></p>
<p>A spokesperson told Business Insider: "<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">In the interest of customer safety a small number of these stores contacted police last night to help control crowds safely and stores are now trading normally. We always take guidance from police authorities on security measures in stores and we’ll work closely with them to make any improvements for next year.”</span></p>
<p>In Manchester, officers had to make two arrests as shoppers competed to bag the best bargains. </p>
<div><div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>At least two people arrested at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackFriday?src=hash">#BlackFriday</a> sales events already this morning. Keep calm people!</p>— G M Police (@gmpolice) <a href="https://twitter.com/gmpolice/status/538221939203256320">November 28, 2014</a>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<h3>Here's a group of police officers try to restore order as shoppers panic:</h3>
<div><div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>A dozen police inside now. Sale of TVs suspended. <a href="http://t.co/SDmpSXnwop">pic.twitter.com/SDmpSXnwop</a></p>— RupertNeate (@RupertNeate) <a href="https://twitter.com/RupertNeate/status/538123987025690624">November 28, 2014</a>
</blockquote>
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<p> </p>
<h3>People can be seen flooding into shops, arguing over TV purchases, and pushing past queues to grab discounts:</h3>
<div><div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackFriday?src=hash">#BlackFriday</a> shoppers scrapping over cheap TVs. Wow. <a href="http://t.co/tVuBQNhkyy">http://t.co/tVuBQNhkyy</a> <a href="http://t.co/BiHi0eDzhP">pic.twitter.com/BiHi0eDzhP</a></p>— LBC (@LBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/LBC/status/538270748532830208">November 28, 2014</a>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p> </p>
<h3>Some people are prepared to wait for hours and fight each other to get their hands on cheap offers:</h3>
<div><div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>10 mins to go. Queuing round the building <a href="http://t.co/jd17JNpWcL">pic.twitter.com/jd17JNpWcL</a></p>— Bryan Roberts (@BryanRoberts72) <a href="https://twitter.com/BryanRoberts72/status/538238315791933440">November 28, 2014</a>
</blockquote>
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<p> </p>
<h3>The likes of Good Morning Britain, Rupert Neate, and Kadhim Shubber have been posting Vines. Some videos are quite shocking: </h3>
<div><div>
<iframe class="vine-embed" src="https://vine.co/v/OnbugizgvWm/embed/simple" width="600" height="600" frameborder="0"></iframe><script async src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></div>
<p> </p>
<div><div>
<iframe class="vine-embed" src="https://vine.co/v/Onmd6n1DXem/embed/simple" width="600" height="600" frameborder="0"></iframe><script async src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></div>
<p> </p>
<h3>The BBC's Zoe Conway tweeted this photo from the melee at ASDA in Wembley:</h3>
<div><div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>Customers knocked to the ground in the rush at Asda Wembley <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackFriday?src=hash">#BlackFriday</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/BBCr4today">@BBCr4today</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/BBCNews">@BBCNews</a> <a href="http://t.co/7TXZVCfBFH">pic.twitter.com/7TXZVCfBFH</a></p>— zoe conway (@zoeconway1) <a href="https://twitter.com/zoeconway1/status/538241753959383040">November 28, 2014</a>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p> </p>
<h3>This Vine by Ben Phillips sums the situation up well:</h3>
<div><div>
<iframe class="vine-embed" src="https://vine.co/v/OnKxU1Jlgx0/embed/simple" width="600" height="600" frameborder="0"></iframe><script async src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></div>
<p> </p>
<h3>A video on YouTube, posted by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFE537IndqcBuOmltGGryJg" data-name="" data-ytid="UCFE537IndqcBuOmltGGryJg" data-sessionlink="ei=K0B4VJ9hzf1wqvqBqAw">DeanCoombesAnfield</a>, even captures two women fighting over underwear:</h3>
<p> </p>
<div><div>
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/8PpJMjGYIUw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></div>
<p>The queues for Black Friday deals started in the early hours of Friday morning. Although it was first introduced by Amazon and ASDA in 2010, this year it's proving more popular and has been taken on by more companies.</p>
<div><div>
<iframe class="vine-embed" src="https://vine.co/v/OnbBV3Kv1Z1/embed/simple" width="600" height="600" frameborder="0"></iframe><script async src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></div>
<p>The frantic buying is due to many UK retailers offering astounding deals. Sainsbury's, which is taking part for the first time, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/sainsburys-is-doing-black-friday-for-the-first-time-and-its-deals-look-insane-2014-11">has got massive reductions</a> and <a href="http://www.tesco.com/direct/black-friday-cyber-monday-deals/">Tesco has cut prices by up to 70%</a>. </p>
<p> </p>
<div><div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>5 police cars at hattersely tesco because someone ran off with two tellies and started a riot over a kindle 😂</p>— Shaunna (@Shaunna_OB) <a href="https://twitter.com/Shaunna_OB/status/538125830602620928">November 28, 2014</a>
</blockquote>
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<p> </p>
<h3>Bradford is reacting remarkably to it all:</h3>
<p> </p>
<div><div>
<div id="fb-root"></div> <script>(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=754847247937677" data-width="466"><div class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=754847247937677">Post</a> by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hannah.jackson.5076">Hannah-Marie Jackson</a>.</div></div>
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<p class="embed-spacer"></p>
<p>Online, a host of retailers started selling on Thursday night, which led to a lot of websites experiencing unmanageable volumes of traffic and crashing. </p>
<h3>Here's the Curry's website before midnight:</h3>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/54784dfbdd0895727e8b4614-424-466/screen%20shot%202014-11-28%20at%2009.20.37.png" alt="BF" border="0"></p>
<h3>And here's the Tesco site on Friday morning:</h3>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/54784dfbdd0895727e8b4615-936-495/screen%20shot%202014-11-28%20at%2009.56.43.png" alt="BF" border="0"></p>
<h3>On a positive note, ASDA has got Black Friday cheerleaders:</h3>
<div><div>
<iframe class="vine-embed" src="https://vine.co/v/Onq3x0wlbjt/embed/simple" width="600" height="600" frameborder="0"></iframe><script async src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></div>
<p> </p>
<p>We'll update this post throughout the day. </p><p><a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/photos-black-friday-in-the-uk-2014-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/cards-against-humanity-sold-30000-boxes-of-black-friday-bull-poop-2014-11This Game Company Sold 30,000 Boxes Of Bull Poop As A Black Friday 'Deal'http://www.businessinsider.com/cards-against-humanity-sold-30000-boxes-of-black-friday-bull-poop-2014-11
Fri, 28 Nov 2014 18:37:36 -0500Jillian D'Onfro
<p>Cards Against Humanity, which bills itself as a "party game for horrible people," decided that it wanted to help potential customers "experience the ultimate savings" on Black Friday by taking its game off its website completely. </p>
<p>Instead, though, <a href="https://store.cardsagainsthumanity.com/">the site offered a bizarre and hilarious "deal"</a>: It sold boxes of bull poop for $6 each. </p>
<p class="embed-spacer">Truly.</p>
<p class="embed-spacer">Creator <a href="https://twitter.com/maxtemkin">Max Temkin assured people on Twitter</a> that the deal was legit. </p>
<div><div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>
nope <a href="http://t.co/u6o67beZjP">pic.twitter.com/u6o67beZjP</a> </p>— Max Temkin (@MaxTemkin) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/538385337626943488">November 28, 2014</a>
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<div><div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>
If you buy the poop expecting it to be something else that’s not poop, you’re actually buying a valuable life lesson for $6. </p>— Max Temkin (@MaxTemkin) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/538378512382844928">November 28, 2014</a>
</blockquote>
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<p class="embed-spacer"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Miraculously, the site sold out poop boxes, meaning Cards Against Humanity sold 30,000 boxes, </span><a href="https://twitter.com/MaxTemkin/status/538460879655014400">Temkin told me via tweet</a><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">. That's $180,000 of revenue from poop.</span></p>
<p>This isn't the game company's first quirky special. Last year, Cards Against Humanity sold its game for $5 more than usual, and ended up <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/this-is-brilliant-marketing-cards-against-humanity-offers-5-more-black-friday-deal-and-sales-spike-2013-12">getting a huge spike in sales</a>. </p>
<p>It's also holding a <a href="https://www.holidaybullshit.com/">Ten Days Of Kwanza Or Whatever sale</a> where for $15, customers will get ten mystery gifts throughout December. </p>
<p>Here's what you see now on the company's main website:</p>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5478f8046da811f12acd71f6-1147-590/screen%20shot%202014-11-28%20at%205.23.38%20pm.png" border="0" alt="Cards Against Humanity"></p>
<p> The company's FAQ page was equally amusing:</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5478fbbaeab8ea7111c46f18-1034-645/screen%20shot%202014-11-28%20at%205.47.38%20pm.png" border="0" alt="Card Against Humanity "></p>
<p>(<a href="http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/11/cards-against-humanity-calls-bull-on-black-friday-sells-cow-feces/">Hat-tip to Ars Technica</a>, where we first saw this story.)</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/google-black-friday-cyber-monday-deals-2014-11" >Here Are Google's Big Holiday Sales</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/cards-against-humanity-sold-30000-boxes-of-black-friday-bull-poop-2014-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-video-fights-store-2014-11If You Think Black Friday Gets Insane In The US, Check Out This Video From Englandhttp://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-video-fights-store-2014-11
Fri, 28 Nov 2014 12:47:00 -0500Devan Joseph and Associated Press
<p><span>Footage captured in the early hours of Friday morning, shoppers ripping through displays to get access to discounted kitchen appliances&nbsp;<span>in Lea Valley, London, UK on Black Friday.<br><br><em>Produced by&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/author/devan-joseph" title="Devan Joseph">Devan Joseph</a></em><span><em>. Video courtesy of Associated Press.</em><br><br><strong>Follow BI Video:</strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BusinessInsider.Video" title="On Facebook">On Facebook</a></span><span><br></span><br></span></span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-video-fights-store-2014-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-thanksgiving-sales-2014-11Amazon's Thanksgiving Sales Were Reportedly Up More Than 25% This Year http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-thanksgiving-sales-2014-11
Fri, 28 Nov 2014 11:51:29 -0500Jillian D'Onfro
<p>Amazon's Thanksgiving sales were up 25.9% year-over-year according to data <a href="http://www.channeladvisor.com/blog/?pn=scot/thanksgiving-online-sales-up-20-1-holiday-14-update">from e-commerce software company ChannelAdvisor</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>ChannelAdvisor will be tracking holiday sales for the "Cyber Five," meaning the five days starting from Thanksgiving and continuing to Cyber Monday.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In a handy chart, the company shows that total online sales grew 20.1% year-over-year. The top-growing channel was "Other 3PMs," meaning, marketplaces that are not eBay and Amazon. GS stands for Google Shopping, and CSE stands for comparison shopping engines, like Yahoo! Shopping. Search is traditional AdWords search.&nbsp;</p>
<p>eBay was the slowest growing channel on Thanksgiving coming in at only 3% year-over-year growth. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Here's a look at <a href="http://www.channeladvisor.com/blog/?pn=scot/thanksgiving-online-sales-up-20-1-holiday-14-update">ChannelAdvisor's chart</a>:</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5478a2806bb3f7220d5539d8-629-488/amazonchart-channeladvisor.jpg" border="0" alt="AmazonChart ChannelAdvisor"></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-black-friday-cyber-monday-deals-2014-11" >Amazon Has Holiday Discounts On Its Kindles, TV Streaming Stick, And Smartphone</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-thanksgiving-sales-2014-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p>